The $700,000 Group I Tatts Tiara (1400m) at Eagle Farm last Saturday was the last of 76 Australian Group I races run this season that produced 57 individual Group I winners, so let’s take a look at the best of the best.
The choice for Australian Horse of the Year for the 2024/2025 racing season is an easy one with super talented import Via Sistina (IRE) a dominant performer at distances ranging from 1400 to 2040m with nine starts this season producing an astonishing seven G1 wins.
Irish bred she may be, but she is also the best ever offspring of Australian champion sire Fastnet Rock, who shuttled to Coolmore in the Northern Hemisphere and she is also the most expensive G1 winner having been bought as a tried horse from the Tattersalls December Mares Sale for 2.7million guineas in 2023.
Other multiple G1 winners were:
3 G1 wins Lady Shenandoah (3f Snitzel)
3 G1 wins Mr Brightside (NZ) (7g Bullbars)
3 G1 wins Treasurethe Moment (3f Alabama Express)
2 G1 wins Antino (NZ) (6g Redwood (GB)
2 G1 wins Broadsiding (3c Too Darn Hot (GB)
2 G1 wins Ceolwulf (NZ) (4g Tavistock)
2 G1 wins Jimmysstar (NZ) (5g Per Incanto (USA)
2 G1 wins Joliestar (4m Zoustar)
2G1 wins Light Infantry Man (Fr) (6g Fast Company)
2 G1 wins Sunshine in Paris (5m Invader)
The most successful sires with more than one G1 winner are headed by a group of four stallions that all sired three G1 winners and all of them bar Snitzel are standing at stud this spring.
Harry Angel stands at Darley NSW at a fee of $66,000, Pride of Dubai at Coolmore at $27,500 and Super Seth at Waikato Stud in NZ at a fee of $75,000.
Harry Angel is a complete outcross representing the Acclamation sireline and being free of Danehill blood, while Pride of Dubai and Super Seth have Danehill blood through their damsire, the former from a daughter of Danehill and the latter from a daughter of Redoute’s Choice.
3 G1 – Harry Angel (IRE) – 3c Private Harry, 4g Tom Kitten, 4g War Machine (NZ)
3 G1- Pride of Dubai – 7m Bella Nipotina, 7g Dubai Honour (IRE), 7m Deny Knowledge (IRE)
3 G1 Snitzel- 3f Lady Shenandoah, 2f Marhoona, 3c Switzerland
3 G1 Super Seth – 3g Feroce (NZ), 3g Linebacker(NZ), 3g Maison Louis (NZ)
2G1 Castelvecchio – 3f Aeliana (NZ), 3c El Castello
2G1 Extreme Choice – 2c Devil Night, 5g Knight’s Choice
2G1 Fastnet Rock - 7m Via Sistina (IRE), 6g Buckaroo (GB)
2G1 I Am Invincible – 4m Charm stone, 2c Vinrock
2 G1- Lope de Vega – 6g Duke de Sessa (IRE), 8g Arapaho (Fr)
2 G1 Per Incanto (USA)- 5g Gringotts (NZ), 5g Jimmysstar (NZ)
2 G1 Sebring – 6m Fangirl, 5m Tashi
2 G1 Street Boss (USA) – 5g Another Wil, 6g Pinstriped
2 G1 Written Tycoon – 3c Private Life, 4h Southport Tycoon
2 G1 Zoustar – 4m Joliestar, 4h Schwarz
The most successful broodmare sires of G1 winners are as follows with Darley’s former shuttle sire Street Cry (IRE) heading the list with four winners:
4 G1 Street Cry (IRE) – Treasurethe Moment (3f Alabama Express), Broadsiding (3c Too Darn Hot (GB), Tom Kittten (4h Harry Angel(IRE), Tashi (5m Sebring)
3 G1 Fastnet Rock – Joliestar (4m Zoustar), El Castello (3c Castelvecchio), Reserve Bank (3c Capitalist)
2 G1 Casino Prince – Nepotism (2c Brutal), You Wahng (3f So You Think)
2 G1 Dansili – Arapaho (Fr) (8g Lope de Vega), Land Legend (FR) (5g Galileo)
2 G1 Encosta de Lago – Marhoona (2f Snitzel), Fangirl (6m Sebring)
2 G1 Galileo – Via Sistina (IRE) (7m Fastnet Rock), Buckaroo (GB) (6g Fastnet Rock)
2 G1 More Than Ready (USA) – Southport Tycoon (4h Written Tycoon), Knight’s Choice (5g Extreme Choice)
2 G1 Shamardal – Devil Night (2c Extreme Choice), Ceolwulf (NZ) (5g Tavistock)
2 G1 Snitzel – Private Life (3v Written Tycoon), Pinstriped (6g Street Boss (USA)
2 G1Star Witness - Aeliana (NZ) (3f Castelvecchio, Bella Nipotina (7m Pride of Dubai)
Country of origin is always interesting and given we are in Australia, we expect to see the Aus bred thoroughbreds on top of the table and they are although in the longer races for all aged horses they made scant impression barring that miraculous Melbourne Cup victory for Knight’s Choice.
The Kiwis had a very good season with 11 G1 winners carrying the NZ suffix up from seven last year and the winners ranged in distance from Jimmysstar (NZ), who was successful at 1100m up to the 2400m classic winners Aeliana (NZ) and Maison Louis (NZ).
Australia -37 G1 winners
New Zealand – 11 G1 winners
European (GB, IRE, FR)- 9 G1 winners
